Donated money stalls in Jacksonville council panel after complaint of 'cozy' ties

Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com--02/12/2013--Councilman Matt Schellenberg listens as people speak for and against the reappointment of Parvez Ahmed as well as the size of the Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, in the City Council chambers, in Jacksonville, Florida. Councilman Matt Schellenberg removed his request that his bill to shrink the Human Rights Commission be removed from emergency measure. (Florida Times-Union, Bruce Lipsky)

When you’re raising money, asking is supposed to be the hard part.

But Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown’s office ran into resistance Tuesday when it sought City Council committee approval to use $75,000 that Florida Blue donated to help the city’s education commission office.

“I find the relationship is too cozy,” Councilman Matt Schellenberg told Finance Committee members, noting that Florida Blue, which holds a contract to insure city employees, has backed other mayoral efforts, including loaning executives to run the city’s office of public-private partnerships.

“Is this the only company the administration knows that we can go to to get the resources? … It’s awful that we go back to the same people,” Schellenberg said.

Despite a 4-3 vote in favor, a bill (2013-587) to use the donated money stalled in Finance because it lacked five votes required for committee action. The Recreation and Community Development Committee approved the bill a few hours later.

The bill is meant to clear spending in the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30. The money pays for a program manager. The education commissioner, Annmarie Kent-Willette, is on loan from Jacksonville University for $1 a year.

A city spokesman, David DeCamp, said Florida Blue is one of a range of private organizations that have supported Mayor’s Office efforts. He noted other money had come from sources including Wells Fargo and the law firms of Terrell Hogan and Farah & Farah, and said $75,000 was “really a fraction” of the contributions the city had taken in.

Brown’s chief of staff, Chris Hand, said he didn’t consider the Finance vote a serious setback, noting that Councilman Clay Yarborough, who voted no in Finance, supported the bill in the recreation committee. Hand said Councilman Robin Lumb, the third vote no, agreed later Tuesday to support the bill.

The $88.6 million insurance contract was awarded to Florida Blue through a competitive bid because the company was $6 million cheaper than the next closest contender, Aetna, and had more attractive provider networks and discounts, DeCamp said.

The company’s role supporting mayoral projects is a matter of civic involvement, said Jason Altmier, a senior vice president.

“We are based in Jacksonville. That’s where our headquarters is. We’ve been there for 70 years and we feel that we have a commitment,” Altmier said, noting the company was among several that pledged support of Brown’s education efforts during a 2012 visit by former President Bill Clinton. “It’s an obligation that we take very seriously,” he said.